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Naruto Shingetsu: For Whom the Bell Tolls
--- Arata Sarutobi graced the village's training field with his presence at the very crack of dawn, awaiting with curiosity the arrival of his students. He was brimming with anticipation, actually, eager to see if his students were as talented as the instructors at the Academy had led him to believe. During their first meeting, he'd gotten the impression that they each possessed something special, something that resisting quantifying that seemed to radiate from powerful shinobi. His old teammate's son was now on his team, as well, and he recalled Seto having bragged to him previously about his middle child's potential. While he didn't doubt Seto's judgment, he'd also gotten the impression that Yoru was going to be the one who irritated him the most, with his playing dumb routine. The girl, Mitsuko, seemed alright. Kumoi was likely to be as frustrating to teach as the Uchiha child. Nevertheless, he leaned against one of the stumps, arms folding over his chest as he waited. The wind blew through his hair, crisp morning air refreshing him. He hoped his new students had the wherewithal to not be late to such an important event as this... ----- Suddenly appearing near a tree, Mitsuko glanced at her sensei before closing her eyes and letting off a gentle smile. "Arata Sensei, when will Yoru and Kumoi arrive?" she asked as she cracked her knuckles, flexing her muscles afterwards, anticipating some type of training. Looking forward to her father coming to Konoha to visit her, she wanted to swiftly get this over with. ----- Kumoi seemingly fell from the sky, landing on his face. He stood gingerly beginning to shake his head. The boy excitedly looked around, and suddenly looked depressed. "Mitsuko beat me here..." he murmured, looking down until he suddenly lit up. "But I beat that dumbass Yoru!" he yelled excitedly, pumping his fist. He took a seat, pulling out a small bottle of sake. "Hey, there Arata-sensei. What are we doing today? Can we do it without Yoru?" ----- Thankfully, his father came in clutch and made sure he was woken up with time to spare. After getting ready, Yoru trekked out to the training fields, noticing that everyone else was already there. Oh, well. He was still early, even if he wasn't the first to arrive. Punctuality was what counted, right? "Yo, Mitsuko, Kumoi." Grinning, he waved to his teammates as he walked up beside them. He waved at Master Arata, as well, not wanting to seem impolite. ---- Arata gave the first of his students to arrive a warm grin. "Hello, Mitsuko. I imagine they will arrive soon, even those two seem like they know better than to be late." Taking out his daggers, he began to casually sharpen them. His chakra blades were his most prized possession, the most important part of his fighting style. Looking up, he watched with fascination as Kumoi hit the ground, having apparently fallen from the sky. Arata's lips twitched into an amused smile at his student's excitement. "No drinking, please, Kumoi. Yoru is absolutely necessary for this, so just be patient. I am sure he will be here shortly." Speak of the devil. The blonde Uchiha popped up in between Mitsuko and Kumoi, with a few minutes to spare. Arata pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I appreciate the three of you being punctual as requested. Now that all three of you are here, we may began, albeit a few minutes early. The goal of this exercise is to retrieve this pair of bells." The shinobi held up the bells for effect. "However, it will not be that simple, as you will be trying to retrieve them...from me. You will have until the timer goes off for lunch to take them. At that point, we will break so you may eat, and then go until sundown or until you have successfully taken the bells from me, whichever comes first. However, if two of you are successful in taking a bell, the third person who was unsuccessful will be tied up to one of these stumps, and forced to repeat at the Academy. Before we begin, have you any questions?" ---- "None." replied Mitsuko, gently taking several steps forward, using her left free hand to tighten the glove on her right hand. "Grrrp" sounded the glove as it shifted into position, nearly skintight around the woman's fingers and palm. Extending her left hand out, she turned it towards herself while simultaneously positioning her right hand just above her breasts, pointing it forward. Bending her knee ever so slightly, she extended her leg forward just a bit. "Ready when you are..." she declared with a focused expression. ---- Kumoi smirked. He got into position, one that would maximize his initial acceleration. Cracking his knuckles and wiping his nose, he stared down Arata Sensei. "I got no questions." he responded, before turning to Yoru. "500 yen says I can get a bell and you can't." he said, betting with his friend. "Mitsuko, it's up to you and I to get the bells. We can't let Yoru get any of them." ---- Yoru watched as his teammates readied themselves, and did the same, planning on working in tandem with Kumoi to try and overwhelm their sensei. However, Kumoi chose that moment to irritate him. "Shut up, Kumoi," he mumbled, annoyed. "I'm not in a betting mood." Since Kumoi wanted to be like that, he supposed he was on his own. Using the Body Flicker Technique in tandem with his own speed, he closed the distance between himself and Master Arata, performing hand seals. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" ---- Tch. These kids already are missing the point of this exercise. Kumoi's competitive attitude was great, but this was the wrong moment to display it, and it was the wrong moment for Yoru to get annoyed over it. Honestly, Kumoi should've been working with his friend, instead of trying to bet on his failure. Mitsuko seemed ready to go it alone herself at first glance, but he was unsure. Either way, perhaps it was too much for him to expect them to immediately come together as a team and try to beat him that way. He was only going to make it harder on them the longer it took them to figure it out. Yoru's speed suddenly caught him off guard, and he barely avoided the fireball by using Substitution. "Impressive speed, Yoru, but it will take more than that to fight me effectively." Performing hand seals at a speed that was nearly imperceptible, Arata used Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide to split apart the ground his students stood on. ---- Mitsuko watched as the earth near her divided and ruptured, swiftly altering her stance to accommodate her rapid shift in tilt. "So far, so good" she said to herself, as she glanced at the positions of her teammates. Quickly brandishing two Geriki, she dashed towards her sensei, eager to make her next move. Crossing her arms in midair and tucking the hilts into the pits of her arms, she formed several hand seals before generating a torrent of water with Water Release: Wild Water Wave as it washed over the area surrounding everyone. ---- Kumoi cursed under his breath as the wave came crashing towards them. Kumoi launched himself over to Yoru's chunk of ground, grabbing him and one of kunai. Kumoi threw him straight into the air, wanting for him to avoid the incoming wave. Kumoi knew Arata would avoid, and thus as he noticed Arata beginning to move, he tossed the kunai in that direction, so Yoru could reappear and grab a damned bell. But the waves came crashing down, Kumoi not moving, letting the wave take him. ---- Yoru tried to be surprised as Kumoi used his superior physical strength to launch him into the air, but really, he wasn't. After being close friends, the best of friends, for years, each boy knew instinctually exactly what the other would do in a combat situation. Their ability to cooperate silently was without reproach. Focusing his gaze on Master Arata, Yoru threw a handful of shuriken at their sensei, hoping to force him to move off his spot. Twisting in midair, he acted as if he was going to bring his heel down on Arata's head, but instead he reached out to grab a bell. His fingertips grazed metal, a quiet jingle accompanying the sensation... ---- Water flooded the area, but Arata simply rose to the top of it, standing on it effortlessly with flawless chakra control. He didn't have time to be too impressed with Mitsuko's use of Water Release, however, as he noticed Kumoi throwing Yoru at him. Taking a step backwards, he used one of his daggers to easily parry the Uchiha's shuriken, and before he could blink, the boy was in front of him and reaching for a bell as he descended from the air. Hmph. Good cooperation on Yoru's and Kumoi's parts, but it wouldn't be that easy. Arata grabbed Yoru's wrist and easily flung him away, the boy falling into the water. Performing hand seals at an imperceptible speed as he jumped backwards, his feet coming to rest on a tree branch, he used Lightning Release: Thunderbolt. Lightning coursed through the water, at a speed which was greatly increased by the conductivity of the fluid. ---- Though it seemed Mitsuko was reckless with her previous water technique, it was a setup for her next technique. As Arata jumped backwards, the water spread around before drew itself together as a multitude of large emerged from the water, extending towards him from various angles at high speed. This effectively shrunk the area the water covered as it was now being used for the spikes instead, rather than being spread over a large area like before. Seeing lightning orbs emanate from the hands of her new sensei, Mitsuko braced herself for the electric shock.